Syria's main opposition dismisses Russia's proposal

BEIRUT, (AP):

Syria's main opposition block yesterday urged the West to strike Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime despite Russia's initiative to have Damascus surrender its chemical weapons to international control, dismissing the proposal as a manoeuvre to escape punishment.

Even as the Syrian National Coalition tried to push back against the proposal, momentum for it was building. In Moscow, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said yesterday that Damascus accepts the initiative, saying it did so to "uproot US aggression."

United States Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that Assad could resolve the crisis by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.